Love for Different Reasons
by LHath08
Summary: A story about what would happen if Damon's "cure" had unintended side effects. What if Damon could offer Elena something that Stefan couldn't? My first fic. Constructive Criticism, please :
1. Chapter 1

Klaus smiled as Katherine flew from the apartment.

"She'll never come back!" Stefan shouted incredulously.

"She doesn't need to. You should know, Stefan. The best part of the hunt is the chase" replied Klaus. "Come on, that's enough for now. I've got something better in store for you."

Only Klaus knew that he had left something out of his explanation of the "cure" for Damon. He didn't need to convince Stefan to stay with him, because after tonight, Stefan wouldn't have a reason to come back.

* * *

><p>All Damon could focus on was the sweetness of Elena's lips on his. Now having tasted the real thing, he wondered how he could have ever confused Katherine for her. His heart leapt at the thought that the love of his life might possibly care for him. He was so wrapped up that he didn't even notice-<p>

"I'm the one you should be thanking; I'm the one that brought the cure" Katherine called out from the doorway of Damon's bedroom. Damon and Elena broke apart like two teens caught by their parents on second base.

Katherine poured the thick crimson liquid down his throat. Almost immediately he could feel his veins stop burning, his breathing get easier.

"Don't worry about Stefan. He gave himself over to Klaus to pay for this. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon", Katherine said from the doorway. "Oh and it's okay to love them both for different reasons. I did."

Elena spent the night with Damon, still concerned that the cure might not work as it should have. But he slept soundly. She couldn't help herself; she was so happy he was going to be okay that every so often she reached up and stroked his face. He was so peaceful when he slept.

She awoke in the morning, expecting Damon to be a mere centimeters away, as he had all night. Only his side of the bed was empty. Frowning, she sat up, squinting in the sunlight and trying to flatten her bed head.

She walked through the house checking rooms and calling for him softly. Elena just hoped he hadn't set out on his own to try and save Stefan.

Stefan. Elena paused at his doorway, lost in thought. _I can't keep treating them like this. I knew Damon loved me and still I used his affection for my own selfish reasons. Maybe I'm more like Katherine than I ever wanted to be._

And that's where Damon found her, leaning against Stefan's doorframe and (he imagined) cursing her luck for being left with the wrong brother. "Don't worry Princess, we'll find Saint Stefan. As soon as we get you some breakfast. I made omelets and we have some BLOOD orange juice."

Elena couldn't help but smile at his small joke. Relaxing slightly, she turned and followed Damon down the stairs.

Elena and Damon sat at the breakfast nook bathed in sunlight, each lost in their own thoughts. Damon, crushed once again by Elena's pining for Stefan, kept trying to flip off the switch to his emotions. Just for one day- he needed a break from caring about her. But he couldn't turn it off. He was getting more frustrated by the moment when suddenly Elena grabbed his hand-

"Damon! Where is your ring? Why did you take it off and why…aren't you on fire right now?"

Damon, a bit freaked out himself jumped up and ran to the shadows. Looking himself over, he walked into the living room where he found his ring, still sitting on the wet bar. Right where he had left it the day before after his "last" drink. Elena walking up behind him, took his hand and found something she hadn't noticed before- his skin was warm to the touch.

"…Damon? Is it possible? Have you drank any blood since last night? I think…I think you have a pulse. What's happening!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Oh, stop brooding, Stefan. Honestly, I thought a cheerleader would put some pep in your step. A few weeks in, Klaus was getting a little sick of Stefan's continued moodiness and starting to rethink his decision to reincarnate The Ripper. As a henchmen, he certainly did the damage the job required. But as a traveling companion- Klaus sometimes wished he could compel a personality into him.

"I'm bored enough to stake myself. I thought when you said you wanted The Ripper back, you were actually going to give me something worthwhile to occupy my time with. Not these errand boy tasks. That cheerleader didn't even scream she was so brainless. I need a challenge!"

"A challenge, you say? There is something I could use your assistance with. But I wouldn't want to offend your ahem, moral code."

"I'm listening, but don't waste my time Klaus."

* * *

><p>"It's…not possible, is it Elena?"<p>

"I don't know what's possible anymore. How do you feel?"

"Sore. And incredibly vulnerable. I feel like I should buy a fire arm or something to protect myself with. It's a dangerous world out there. And hungry…I think I'm going to make some pasta. And lamb kebobs. Ha, who knew I would take up eating animals. That's really more Stefan's thing."

And Damon did feel weird. But more than anything, he felt hopeful. For the first time in a long time, he had a future to plan for. A life to live out. Even if this chance was going to get taken from him- like so many times in the past, Damon would at least make the most of it.

Elena smiled softly as she watched Damon move through the kitchen. Whoever Damon finally chose to settle down with - if he ever did make that choice - would be a lucky woman. 2 homemade pizzas and a chocolate soufflé later, Damon realized he was alone in the kitchen. For the first time since waking up human, he realized he was giving up things he had grown accustomed to in his two hundred years as a vampire. Things such as supernatural speed and strength and, more importantly at the moment, supernatural hearing. He quietly crept through the house looking for Elena when he finally found the brunette curled up on the window seat of the library. All he could think of were Romeo's famous words as he watched Elena gently wipe a tear from her cheek. His heart broke. But he knew the reason behind her tears, and it broke again.

Even if he couldn't be _the one_, he still needed to be the one who made her happy. "Lena, Stefan is a big vampire. Klaus has no reason to be killing him. This isn't Nancy Grace, the first 24 hours aren't critical in THIS missing person's case. We'll find him. We just need a plan for when we do."

Elena continued staring out at the trees, "I just can't believe he would give himself over like that. He's spent so long running away from that life, and it was so easy for him to just to give up. I thought I was enough, for him, to choose _this_ life.

Damon sighed, he couldn't believe he was trying to convince Elena to stay with his brother. "He did it, because he had to. He saw an opportunity to save me, to save you. And he took it. Just like I did."

"Damon…"

"I have some stuff to do. I'll see you later." Damon said turning and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chicago, IL_

Stefan tugged at his skintight black leather pants and red mesh tank as he stepped inside the club, bass thumping a slow rhythm. He didn't believe Katherine would really be here, in this city, with these people, but this was the only lead Klaus had been willing to give him before he released him on his mission. The only compulsion- "Don't contact your brother or friends. Bring me Katerina Petrova**."** Klaus had watched Stefan's brain trying to work out a loophole and was satisfied to see him drawing a blank.

As Stefan glanced at the bar and watched several people drink what appeared to be Bloody Marys, he felt a pair of arms encircling him from behind. A pixie of a girl with shock white hair stood looking at him, her lipstick (intentionally?) smudged from her lips. As she smiled, slowly, Stefan could see her incisors were sharpened to a point. Still, he could sense her heart beating and heard the rush of blood through her veins as she worked out what to say." Stefan shook his head in a combination of disgust and dismay. He couldn't believe it. Klaus was right- these people had taken groupie fanaticism to an entirely new level- these people were pretending to be blood sucking vampires.

"Ohhhh, New Blood" the girl whispered in his ear. "You look yummy. Want to dance?"

Stefan swallowed the pity that had sprung forth as he studied the girl. "I'm actually looking for someone, maybe you can help? Olive skin, dark hair and eyes, may be going by the name Katherine."

The girl looked a bit dazed as she responded "No, I'm sorry. Doesn't sound familiar. I actually have to go now." Then, winking, she said "Enjoy the night."

Recognizing the girls reaction and suddenly suspicious that the people in the club were compelled, Stefan took one more lap around the club before he headed for the door. He didn't even notice the beautiful Eastern European smirking from the balcony section. Katherine knew had Stefan right where she wanted him- chasing her.

A young man approached Stefan as he strode up the alley. Though clearly frightened, he spoke. "I heard you asking about Katherine. I know where you might find her. She has been staying with a friend of mine in Connecticut- New Haven. Ask for Joseph."

* * *

><p><em>Mystic Falls, VA<em>

Elena awoke a few hours later, still curled into an overstuffed leather chair in the Salvatore's library. A copy of Frankenstein fallen to the floor beside her. At first she couldn't place what had torn her from her dream when the smell wafted again through the air- it was a smell she knew immediately and she raced down the hall and stairwell. Finally reaching her destination, Elena leaned into the doorframe as she hugged herself. Tomato, garlic, and parsley filled her senses as she watched Damon rolling out pasta dough. Elena couldn't stop herself from returning Damon's grin as he walked towards the entrance and spoonfed her a taste of the sauce

"Does it need more onion?"

"Nope, it's perfect. Is there anything I can do to help?" Elena said a bit shocked at how quickly Damon was embracing being human.

A couple hours later Damon and Elena sat talking, the remnants of their delicious pasta pushed aside. It was a nice, easy conversation-a first for them considering the type of drama that usually made up their lives. Elena couldn't stop thinking of just how easy it was, sitting with Damon, talking about everything-from his first kiss to his favorite game as a child. For the first time, she was getting to know the "real" Damon. The human Damon. He had been right- she would've liked him "before" as well.

Despite his best efforts not to, Damon couldn't stop himself from drawing nearer to her. From finding pleasure in the sound of her laughter, pleasure in knowing he could be the one to make her laugh.

And that night, when Damon went to sleep, he dreamt of living life as a human. So long as Elena was by his side, he was strangely comforted by the thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Elena's breath caught in her throat as she bolted upright at the crashing sound in her room. Too much time hiding out from blood-thirsty killers had frayed her nerves. As her eyes adjusted she realized it was morning, and there was a dark haired man hopping on one foot at the end of her bed.

"Still aren't used to walking like a mortal?" Elena said with a sleepy smile.

"Oww that hurts like a mother-"

"Damon. What are you doing up, anyway?" Elena cutting him off. Cursing was not something she enjoyed first thing in the morning.

"Oww. I want to go out. I want to lay in the sun ala Twilight. Except without the diamond skin. You missed your chance with that trick, honey." Even in human form, Damon still had his wit.

"Damon, it's…..7 o'clock in the morning. I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but drink some whiskey and go back to bed."

Suddenly Damon moved to the foot of the bed and started yanking the sheets off Elena's body. She couldn't keep herself from yelping and curling herself into a ball in a latent attempt at modesty.

"Wow, pajama bottoms wouldn't kill you El", Damon said holding the sheets balled in front of him. "C'mon, the train's is leaving in 20 minutes and you best be on it."

As Damon sauntered from the room Elena had a few choice curses of her own for the early hour. Resigned and, truthfully, slightly intrigued, she headed for the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Stefan accelerated through the Yale University lot, catching more than a few second glances from the nearby co-eds. Stefan smiled. For even though he knew it was his vampirism that had heightened his already fairly attractive features, his ego still enjoyed knowing he was irresistible and could have any girl (or guy!) he wanted.<p>

Parking his "borrowed" Harley-Davidson bike, Stefan headed to the registrar. He knew with one glance Katherine could slip out of town and run twice his speed. No, he needed to do some research on this "Joseph" person, first.

After sweet-talking the sad, middle-aged clerk (he didn't even need to use compulsion), Stefan picked a co-ed and brought the Harley back to a riverbank he had passed earlier. Opening the file, he compelled the girl to offer her arm willingly while she gazed out onto the water. As he drank, Stefan learned more about the mysterious man. Joseph had, in his supposedly young age, garnered 7 Masters, 4 PhDs and 2 Doctorates. At 26, he had even worked as Chief Medical Researcher for a few years with a major urban hospital. To most people, he would appear to be an accomplished individual. Stefan, of course, knew there was nothing extraordinary about his having achieved so much. The birth certificate from 1932 proved it. Joseph was a vampire.

As Stefan rode back to campus, his afternoon snack's blond hair whipping his face, he decided on a plan. Compelling her to walk back to her apartment, wiping her memory, Stefan made his way over to Joseph's classroom.

* * *

><p>When Elena got to the car, Damon was standing next to it with a scarf to use as a blindfold.<p>

"No WAY, Salvatore. Knowing you we'll end up in Georgia again."

"Ha, very funny. No stateline road trips today, my driving has become much more conservative since losing my superspeed and gaining the ability to, you know, die." Damon walked around behind her. As he rested the scarf on her collarbone, awaiting her consent, Damon lightly ran his knuckles along décolletage. Elena swayed slightly, finally grabbing the blindfold and tying it around her eyes on her own in an attempt to hide the blush that had crept onto her face.


End file.
